Thru 4 1/2: Nats lead 3-1

As he stepped to the plate it in the bottom of the first, Ryan Zimmerman was announced to the crowd as the Nationals’ All-Star representative. Then he went out and delivered, rapping an RBI single to right field to score Nyjer Morgan with the game’s first run.

It’s been pretty positive for the Nats since then. They added two more off Derek Lowe in the second, getting back-to-back RBI hits from (of all people) Ronnie Belliard and Scott Olsen. Belliard in particular is having a nice game. On his double that scored Cristian Guzman, he kept racing all the way around to third as the throw came home. That put him in position to score on Olsen’s bloop single to left. (Oh, and for those wondering, four of Washington’s last five starting pitchers have driven in runs, all but John Lannan.)

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Olsen has been sharp on the mound as well. In his second start back from the DL, the lefty is picking up where he left off last week in Florida. He’s allowed one run on three hits. More importantly, he’s efficient, having thrown first-pitch strikes to 15 of the first 19 men faced. Through five innings, his pitch count is only at 59.